Overall: This is simply a kick ass English Ale, similar to many non-spiced "Winter Warmers". This is by far the most impressive non-German-style beer Schell has made. Actually, along with the reformulated Bock and the Rauchbier, this is among their very best, period. (992 characters)

Taste: Starts with some bready malts with lots of caramel, toffee, and yeast. Midway through a pretty noticeable taste of dark fruits comes through with some dark cherries and prunes. Finishes with more bready malts and some hints of earthy hops that help balance out the sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. Creamy and very smooth.

Overall: A great brew from Schell's. Very good use of malts and the dark fruit is a nice touch. Lots of tasty bready goodness without becoming too sweet. (962 characters)

Big hearty brown and amber pour, has more brown to it than amber, ploughy off white head, 2" is the forecast. Aroma was definitely that England Burton type of old school mothballs and English toffee wood flavors. The hopping discussed on the ringneck label does not in fact present itself on the nose.

Taste, not my favorite style, bitter yeast tones, warm dubbel like sugar existence. I feel like the beer is aged on wood from dirty bars that have had decades or even centuries of use from these parts, part of it is no doubt the gritty toffee and tea like aspect with some waterlogged wood. And a banana someone dropped on the ground.

What I can say this was amazing at was making 8% drinkable. When I read that on the website, I was floored. Figured this was standard 4-5% stuff. Hopping is pretty traditional to style, adds some bitterness to the beer, nothing in real mouthfeel of hops. Bready musty aspect, I can't say this beer missed the mark, it did what it was aiming for probably, but it turned me off.

Nothing I would seek out, but thank you to the generous trader who threw this in as an extra. Ultimately, this beer was too difficult for me to continue to peruse all 12oz of it, and the last 3oz met its demise down the sink. (1,244 characters)

Poured from a long neck brown bottle into a clear standard pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a clear medium brown with a reddish tint. One and a half finger of tan foam that receded slowly and left nice sticky lacing.

Smell: Sweet and malty with hints of fried fruits, like raisins and figs. Some earthy hops in the mix and a slight whiff of medicinal yeast phenols and alcohol. Very interesting and inviting aroma.

Taste: Wow, what a unique and great tasting ale. The sweet malt is up front, but followed quickly by the dried fruits and then the Noble and Golding hops to add a slight bitter bite. Then it all finishes smooth and semi-dry. Outstanding.

Mouth feel: Medium body and good crisp carbonation.

Overall: I love this beer. I've never had the style before (Burton Ale), but it seems to embody the best of both British and Belgian styles. The sweet malts and fruit-like flavors, mixed with a great yeast profile and excellent hops flavors for balance. This is easily my favorite of the Schell's Stag series so far. They should make this a seasonal regular in their lineup! (1,081 characters)

I figured this was a decent beer to age (it's about 8 mo old), but had to break it out for a steak dinner. Damn I'm glad I did.

This strong ale has a rich bready caramel aroma with a toffee edge. The flavor follows up with more big smooth barley and a touch of fruit, that's balanced but subtle spicy hops. There's a little lemon rind and earthy apricot, but it's hard to tell where the hops end and the malt and esters begin. A fine English strong ale. I hope to see this around again. (487 characters)

A: Clear reddish/ruby hue with a thin but steady head and great lacing

S: So sweet and bready; some darker fruits but mostly lots of grainy, bready, toasty malts

T: Wow, this is sweet and bready and a bit boozy--the alcohol gives an immediate warming quality; lots of grassy grains with a touch of a earthy sourness; bready, toasty, malt heaven with just a touch of toffee and caramel to finish; this really grows on you

F: It felt a touch thin initially but the beer's body seems to develop as the beer continues to coat the inside of the mouth

O: This is a wintery bliss; such warming, boozy, malty awesomeness (616 characters)

Clear copper colored with a nice two fingered head that had good retention. The head has excellant retention before settling to a thick cap. Moderate amount of lacing is left down the glass.

Smells like a musty grainery. Brings me back to my earlier life. Not much else is going on. Not particular interesting.

The flavor is much more interesting. Tastes very English but like no other English Ale I have ever had. Grainy and musty malt predominate. Hints of caramel and I think I can actually taste the turbinado sugar. Has a sweet brown sugar kick midway through. Hops come in the finish with some grass and spice. Does not taste like 60 IBUs but that is probably due to the sugar additions. A little alcohol flavor and warmth in the finish. Just too sweet for me.

Love the mouthfeel. I think Schell's hit the bullseye with English tradition here. Low, soft, creamy carbonation that is at a level to just lift the flavor. Such a great texture.

So Englishmen drank this beer 70+ years ago? Hard to believe. I am no beer historian but I imagine beers back then not being anything like this. Leave it to Schell's to revive these extinct or near extinct styles. Keep it up. (1,175 characters)

Schell's Burton Ale pours a deeply saturated copper amber color. Brightly clear with some bubbly foam on top at first, that fades to a thin ring and broken wispy skim across the surface. Random spotty flecks of foam in the glass.

Poured into pint glass from bottle, left standard head very minor lacing.

Light amber color, average carbonation rising.

Initial sour notes of fruit up front followed by smells of warm candy; brown sugar. Followed by obligatory boozy smell due to full 8%.

Strong English are taste right away, can identify the English style yeast in taste. Towards end of beer the alcohol taste becomes more apparent on the pallet. More towards the mouth feel portion do you begin to notice the fruity taste, and the though of wine comes to mind.

Minor carbonation leaves plenty of room for flavors to develop without much distracting sting for this style.

Over all... No wonder the Burton Ale is a relative of the Barley Wine... Eat something before indulging in this one, zounds!

The buzz came on slowly and gave a nice heavy feeling in the feet. Made my roommate tired again after almost immediately waking up from 8 hrs of sleep. There's something in that MN water! (959 characters)

A - Pours a hazy dark copper with a creamy khaki-colored head that settles to a slight haze, leaving sheets of lacing behinds as it recedes.S - Sweet at bready, with a strong caramel malt bill, baked brown bread, and some floral English hops.T - Similar to the nose. Bread, caramel malt, and toasted biscuits with a touch of banana, dried fruit, and floral hops. No real bitterness in the finish, quite smooth and balanced.M - Moderately creamy, with a smooth, touch-over-medium body and good carbonation.O - Probably a tad sweet for my taste, but a good English-style beer that was surprisingly drinkable for the 8% ABV. (664 characters)

amber color..Great clarity hear as it was sparkling clear. Very nice. Lots of carbonation apparent trickling up toward the surface. A very nice three finger high head of foam capped off the top and hung around for a good few minutes before settling back to a half inch layer which stayed with it throughout the rest of the session.

The aroma was rather weak for me. Typical English ale with a huge malt bill attached to it. Lotso of bready notes here coing through now with that deep musty like smell, like wet hey it would seem at times. The flavor followed it up almost perfectl with a solid offering of english malts, and a nice little bit of hop bitterness, albeit not much, but just enough to give it some depth (717 characters)

Schell's Stag Series #4. Had this on tap at Pub 500 in Mankato for $5 a pint. According to the brewer, this is a one-time brew.

A- deep amber with minimal head (most likely the fault of the glass). Not a drop of cloudiness to be seen. Attractive beer, wish it had a head.

S- muted bread, malt, and toast. Soft hops can be found if you look. Some caramel sweetness is present as well.

T- Multi-faceted unlike almost any other beer I've had. Has so many different stages of flavors as it crosses the palate that it's hard to pin down individual aspects. Starts out with the strong malt and toasted bread. Then, the middle hits you with the sweetness which is more intense than I had thought it would be, it finishes up with those soft hops which try their hardest to balance everything out and do a decent job at that. The sweetness is pleasant and welcomed at first but after a while becomes somewhat taxing as the beer warms.

Overall, an extremely interesting beer and one that is perfect if you're looking for a change of pace. A great beer and an education to boot- can't argue with that. (1,095 characters)

A - Dark copper color with a hint of rust red. Full, thick, creamy, foamy white head. Very good retention that finally settles into a nice layer of lace.

S - Nice aroma. Sweet, bready malt and loads of fruit (both orchard and golden fruit). Some floral and spicy hops and a hint of a mineral characteristic.

T - Starts with some rich, ripe fruit flavors. Apple, pear, golden raisin stand out most. Gives way to a sweet bread and caramel malt flavor. There is a faint tinge of hard water minerals and floral, spicy hops. The hops come out a bit more at the end although they are never too strong. Everything blends together well without anything jumping out too much. It's a nice, smooth drinking beer.

D - Alcohol is well hidden and it drinks smooth and mellow. Everything works well together.

Notes: I really liked this beer. Given that it is a bit of a lost style, I didn't know what to expect. Nice typical "English" flavors and it makes for a very smooth enjoyable beer to sip on. A little heavy but for a big ale such as this, it is very easy to drink. Definitely worth a try and all around it was a joy to drink. (1,229 characters)